Pretoria:The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has advised voters approved for home-visit special voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections to remain at their registered addresses on Monday and Tuesday until electoral officials arrive to assist them in casting their ballots.

According to South African Government News Agency, the IEC is set to conduct home visits for 678,525 voters approved to cast special votes at their residences due to physical infirmity or disability. The Commission emphasized that officials would not return to addresses where voters are unavailable at the time of the initial visit.

The IEC has urged voters to be available at the addresses provided in their applications throughout the special voting days on 2 and 3 November. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of approved home visits, totaling 143,714, followed by other provinces across the country.

Voters who miss the scheduled home visits will still have the opportunity to vote. They can cast their votes at their designated voting stations on 4 November 2026. The IEC has deployed 127,000 electoral officials to manage home visits and voting station-based special voting over the next two days.

Home-visit officials will operate in teams and may be accompanied by political party agents and observers. The IEC reminded stakeholders that access to homes by individuals other than electoral officials is at the discretion of the approved voters and the institutions where they reside.

The Commission also called on all stakeholders to respect the integrity of the process, refrain from intimidating voters or officials, obstructing voting, or interfering with home-visit routes and election materials. Special votes will be securely stored and reconciled with the records before being counted alongside ballots cast on Election Day, 4 November 2026.